To Reap and to Sow (12 page)

Wes moved quicker than a man his age had any business moving when he dashed to the pile of rags in the corner and tossed a few onto the heavy load being hauled by the horses. Clint covered the old man by walking forward and standing in the partially open door.

Smiling easily as she walked toward the barn, Tina leaned to one side in an attempt to get a look past Clint. “You two have been in there a while. Is everything all right?”

“Just earning my keep,” Clint replied.

“What were you talking about? I heard something about us ladies.”

Clint did some quick figuring in his head to guess how much she could have heard. Since Tina was about ten yards from the barn door, she couldn't have heard much. If she'd been any closer, Clint thought he would have spotted her.

“Your father was just warning me to keep my distance,” Clint said with a smirk.

“Well, that shouldn't be too hard. I'm headed into town.”

“Into town? What for?”

Even though he'd done his best to try and ask the question as casually as possible, Clint could tell that Tina was suspicious. Perhaps it was the fact that Clint was so tired, but he'd sparked a peculiar glint in her eyes when he'd been trying to steer away from that very thing.

“What are you two doing in there?” she asked.

“Just chores. Look, you shouldn't be going into town. Those gunmen might be waiting to get a shot at you.”

“It's not me they're after,” Tina replied. “It's Lynn. Besides, Mark Rowlett isn't exactly the smartest man in the world. I should be able to stay away from him if I want.”

“How well do you know him?”

Tina grinned and shrugged as if she was thinking back to a private joke. “Pretty well,” she said.

The more he heard, the less Clint was concerned about hiding the gold. It seemed Tina was hiding a few things of her own and didn't much care about covering her tracks. “What do you know about all of this?” he asked.

“Just what I said. Mark and his friend are idiots. Just because they're out and about doesn't mean I can't go into town for some flour, sugar and sewing needles.”

“You live on a farm,” Clint told her in the best stern voice he could manage. “There's plenty to eat around here.”

Tina merely crossed her arms and stared at him as if he'd sprouted antlers. “We don't grow sugar and we sure don't grow sewing needles. If you're so concerned, maybe you should come with me.”

“That's a good idea,” Wes said from behind Clint. “Why don't you go with her?”

“I thought there was still work to be done around here,” Clint said.

“I can handle the rest on my own,” Wes replied. “Besides, you've got things to tend to in town yourself, don't you?”

Clint could see it was pointless to argue. Tina wasn't about to be swayed, and Wes had the right to handle his gold however he saw fit. “All right,” Clint said, stopping just short of throwing up his hands. “Let me get my horse saddled.”

“No need,” Tina replied cheerily, while spinning toward the stable on the balls of her feet. “Willie and Gert practically climb into their harnesses on their own.”

“Take Clint's horse,” Wes said quickly. “Willy and Gert got work of their own to do.”

Figuring Willie and Gert would be happy to be through with hauling the gold as quickly as possible, Clint saddled up Eclipse in record time and rode the stallion out of the stable. He'd been worried about Tina heading into the barn while he was getting Eclipse, but she was busy saddling up her own horse. Once they were done, they left the stable and rode toward the northern property line.

“This is going to be a quick trip,” Clint announced. “And try to stay close to me. I don't want you taking a wrong turn and—”

Tina waved him off with one hand before snapping her reins. “If you want to stay close to me, Mr. Adams, you'll have to earn it.”

It was easy work for Clint to catch up to her before Tina made it too far past the fence surrounding the farmhouse. Of course, Tina kept making Clint work to maintain his position all the way into town.

The town was in sight when Clint saw Tina pull back on the reins. Actually, he knew she'd slowed her horse down when Eclipse nearly ran right over her. Having allowed her to stay ahead so he could keep her in sight, Clint had to act quickly to react when she made a sudden stop. Before Clint could ask what had caused her to slow down, he saw the answer for himself.

Two horses thundered away from town and were headed to the east, one following after the other. Since he couldn't see any flames on or around the horses, Clint had to figure they were running away from something else. There surely wasn't anything in sight worth running to.

“That's Mark!” Tina shouted. Turning in her saddle, Tina looked at Clint with excited eyes and said, “That's Mark! I know it!”

“How do you know?” Clint asked.

“That's his horse!”

Clint's first impulse was to doubt what she was saying, and even ask how she knew what she was talking about with such certainty. Before he could do that, he saw one horse catching up to the other. As far as he could tell, they were the animals used by the gunmen who'd shot up Wes's farm.

“Doesn't look like they're headed for Pa's farm,” Tina said.

“Maybe not, but they're going somewhere in a rush.”

Tina looked at Clint with a definite spark in her eyes. “You want to chase them down?”

“No,” Clint replied, giving voice to the first thing that sprang to mind.

But that answer didn't last long.

After catching sight of those two, it didn't stand to reason that Clint should let them ride away. “Aw hell,” he grunted as he snapped the reins. Tina's giggle could be heard even over the sound of her own horse building up speed to stay beside Eclipse.

“We're just going to see where they're headed,” Clint said.

She nodded, but didn't take her eyes off Joey's back.

“I'm serious,” Clint warned. “You'll do what I say or I'll make certain of it personally.”

“I like the sound of that.”

They rode for a short while before Clint signaled for them to slow. He pulled back on Eclipse's reins and was relieved when Tina matched his pace.

“All right,” Clint said in the lowest voice he could manage. “We don't want to get too close.”

“Watch it, Tommy!” someone shouted from Clint's right.

Clint looked toward the sound of the voice, but didn't find Mark or Joey. In fact, when he looked to see where Mark and Joey were, Clint found both of them appearing to be just as confused as he was.

More horses could be heard riding up to them. Clint drew his Colt the second he realized he was being surrounded.

“Double back and head toward town,” Clint told Tina.

Tina's smile was gone, but she wasn't exactly panicked. “I'll stay here. I can help.”

“Just go back to town, dammit! Your staying alive will be all the help I need.”

Although she clearly didn't like it, Tina brought her horse around and pointed its nose toward Thickett. She tapped her heels against the animal's sides, snapped the reins and bolted away from Clint.

Two more riders appeared, but stayed well out of pistol range. The man who'd first showed up wore a duster and had his hat pulled down low to cover up a good portion of his face. One of the other riders was dressed in a similar fashion, but the third looked more like a cowboy. All three of them carried rifles.

Clint evened the odds by holstering his Colt and taking his own rifle from where it hung against Eclipse's side. He managed to clear leather, but wasn't able to bring the rifle up before the riders opened fire.

Several shots ripped through the air, hissing within a foot or so of Clint's head. Most of them didn't get that close, however, so Clint took the time to duck and fire a few shots of his own.

The first round Clint fired got close enough to spook the horse of the closest rider. Since the rider wasn't about to sit still long enough, Clint didn't get the chance to follow up with another shot. As soon as the rider pulled back, the other two moved forward.

There was a lull in the shooting that only lasted long enough for the riders to steady their aim. They pulled their triggers in a deliberate fashion, zeroing in on Clint's position until Eclipse started to get nervous. Since the Darley Arabian wasn't the skittish sort, Clint followed the stallion's lead and picked another spot.

As he moved for the cover of some nearby trees, Clint looked for any trace of Tina. Fortunately, he didn't find any. What bothered him was the sight of Mark and Joey steering their horses back toward town. Before Clint could act on that, he heard one of the riders shout over the gunshots.

“Come along with us,” the rider commanded. “We got this one pinned down real good.”

Mark seemed reluctant at first. He and Joey kept their eyes on Clint as they carefully urged their horses toward the closest man wrapped in a duster. When he saw he wasn't about to be shot from his saddle, Mark flicked his reins and moved even faster. Joey remained at his side the entire way.

Steeling himself and tightening his grip around the rifle, Clint held the weapon up to his shoulder and got Eclipse moving with a nudge from his knee. The instant he got one of the men in dusters in his sights, Clint heard several more gunshots pop around him.

Lead hissed past him, and one piece even found its mark in a tree trunk less than half a yard from his chest. Since the rifles were going off at a controlled pace that resulted in a continuous wave of lead, Clint had no choice but to move farther back into the trees.

One of the riflemen even got an angle behind those trees, which forced Clint back even farther.

Clint heard one of the riflemen shout something to the others, which was followed by the sounds of several sets of hooves pounding against the dirt. When Clint rode around the trees, they were all gone. There was nothing left for Clint to do besides curse himself for letting someone else get the higher ground.

Clint didn't stop when he got to Tina's side. Instead, he simply reached out to grab her horse's bridle and take it along as he kept Eclipse moving down the street. He was so preoccupied looking for an ambush that he didn't even notice how busy the street was.

Once he reached a corner that put plenty of turns between where he was and the spot he'd left behind, Clint looked Tina over carefully. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Did you get hit?”

“I'm fine, Clint. You still could have killed me by pulling my horse around by the nose like that.”

“I thought I told you to get somewhere safe. You were just standing there waiting in the open.”

“You told me to get into town. That's where I was and I was plenty safe. Besides, those men didn't even come this way.”

“Well, they could have,” Clint snapped.

Tina looked as if she was about to say something, but then shifted her eyes away from Clint altogether. With just enough force to get the job done, she turned her horse's head away from him until the bridle slipped from Clint's grasp. “The shop I wanted is right over this way,” she said calmly.

Clint followed her, feeling very much like a scolded child. That ended when he got Eclipse to close the distance between him and Tina. Once they were on level ground again, Clint recalled something that had stuck in his head for a while. “You seemed to pick out Mark's horse pretty quickly,” he said.

“I was there when they rode onto my farm the other night, remember?”

“Yes, but still. That was in the dark and there was a lot going on at the time. Most folks wouldn't remember something like the horse's breed or color.”

Tina shrugged and replied, “I like horses.”

“And I'd like you to answer me honestly.”

Sighing as she climbed down from her saddle, Tina took her sweet time in tying her horse to a hitching post. Finally, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I've seen Mark a few times before. I just didn't want Lynn to know.”

“She's not here. You could have mentioned it before.”

“She may not be here, but you are,” Tina pointed out. “Don't tell me that you and her don't talk…among other things.”

“And I thought women told each other everything.”

“Well…mostly everything. Every lady likes to have her little secrets.”

Clint had his feet on the ground and was tying Eclipse to the post by now. He cinched in the knot and nodded as he chuckled under his breath. “And I suppose you being with Mark is one of those secrets.”

“Among others.”

“Why might that be?”

Tina walked along the boardwalk and twirled a finger through a curl in her thick, dark hair. All around her, folks were running from one spot to another and chattering nervously to themselves. Even as she walked close enough to see this, Tina acted as if nothing of interest was happening beyond whatever it was that floated through her mind.

“Lynn and I have always had the same taste in men,” Tina said wistfully. “Sometimes our timing isn't quite right.”

Although Tina didn't seem to notice the way the locals scurried back and forth across the street, Clint sure did. He could feel the excitement as if it was a static charge hanging in the air after a storm. When he pulled in a deep breath through his nose, he could also detect the hint of burnt gunpowder.

“Are you even listening anymore?” Tina asked petulantly.

Clint put on half a smile and nodded. “Yeah.”

Even though the smile was weak, it was good enough for Tina. She looked back to the door she was about to open and stood there with her fingers perched upon the handle. “Would you like to come inside with me?”

“No. I think I'll get something to drink. It looks like there's some sort of commotion around here, so I'll try to find out what it is.”

Tina looked around as if she hadn't noticed one bit of the commotion that Clint mentioned. When she did catch sight of the locals bustling about, she shrugged and pulled open the shop's door. “Suit yourself. When I'm done here, I'll go to the general store on the corner.”

Clint looked up to see that she was stepping into a seamstress's shop that had some dresses hanging in the front window. “All right. I won't be far.”

Practically skipping into the shop, Tina let the door swing shut behind her. That left Clint to his own devices as he walked a few paces down the boardwalk where more of the commotion was taking place.

Even though Clint tried several times to catch someone's attention, the locals seemed as oblivious to him as Tina had been to everyone else. Finally, Clint reached out with one hand to grab hold of a young man by the sleeve of his brown suit coat.

“What's going on here?” Clint asked.

The young man was shocked to be caught that way, but calmed down when Clint let go of his sleeve. “The bank was robbed,” he said in a rush. “Didn't you hear the shots?”

“I just got into town, but I did cross paths with some armed men who seemed to be in a big hurry.”

“That'd probably be them. They shot the street up, made off with most of the money in the bank and even killed three men.”

“Jesus.”

The young man seemed anxious to leave, so he turned and started on his way once more.

“Who's the law around here?” Clint asked.

Stopping and turning around again, the young man seemed almost as surprised as the first time he'd been stopped. “That'd be Sheriff Copeland.”

“Where can I find him?”

“Just follow me. I need to have a word with him too.”